Like the Dimple blend with its flat sides to stop it falling off the captain’s table, the Swing has a nautical connection. Sea cruises for the wealthy were becoming popular in the 1920s but bottles of Johnnie Walker weren’t designed for the ebb and thrust of the sea. Lord and Lady Forbes Leadbetter wouldn’t be happy if the bar of their luxury liner was swimming with whisky and broken glass as the waves hurled unstable bottles to the floor. The ‘Swing’ appeared on the market in 1932 and the curved bottom of the bottle did exactly as the name suggests. A perfect bottle for sea travel.

The last time the Swing appeared in Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible was in the 2008 edition when it scores a lowly 79/100. Thankfully that was the 43% version. The one available today is a 40% as discussed by Ralfy in his video and mentioned on Whiskybase. Ralfy loves it but it gets mixed reviews on Whiskybase where one member describes it as a “watered down Talisker 10”. Well I like the Talisker 10 and I usually put some water in it so I will know not to do that with the Swing (I wouldn’t with a blend anyway).

Currently several online shops in the UK are selling the Swing for £48 but it’s possible to find it on mainland Europe for a lot less. I got my bottle shipped over from Holland where it cost the Euro equivalent of £26.

Because it’s Johnnie Walker there are plenty of reviews to be found online. Here’s one on You Tube by “The Single Malt Review”:

A 1 litre Johnnie Walker on sale for £25 with the word ‘spice’ in the title – YES PLEASE! This bottle is the cheapest of the JW ‘Explorer Club’ series that Diageo have put together for Travel Retail shops in airports. Apparently Diageo were successfully sued by the real Explorer Club for using their name – ooops! But there were no hard feelings as Diageo have now become a corporate sponsor of the club. One small boo-boo by Diageo, one giant cheque for explorer-kind.

77/100 on Whiskybase is a so-so score for a blend but Jim Murray’s 84.5/100 in his Whisky Bible classifies this JW as “good whisky worth buying”. Mr Murray’s whole review consists of “sublime delivery of exceptionally intense juiciness: in fact probably the juiciest blend released this year. But the bitter, fuzzy finish reveals certain casks haven’t helped.” As noted before, several of the JW range have a problem with their finish. More reason to get quickly to the next sip!

I find Whiskybase a useful website for ratings but, if you live in the UK like I do, avoid looking at how much whiskies cost in Europe (unless you intend to order from there, or like to weep uncontrollably). As I write this, the cheapest place in Europe (listed on Whiskybase) for a 70cl bottle of the Platinum Label is €47.50, which equates to £35.62. The cheapest UK online price I can find is £65.02, nearly £30 more expensive than its European equivalent! It reminds me why we used to do booze-cruises to France 10+ years ago. If you travel to and from Holland or Germany on a regular basis, you’re quids in for whisky purchases, quite literally! More quids remain in your pocket.

88/100 in the Whisky Bible rates this JW blend as “very good to excellent whisky definitely worth buying”. Reading the review by the author, Jim Murray, you realise the Platinum shares a common trait with several other versions of JW, which is a lackluster finish. This can also be seen in the Blue Label and Spice Road (Travel Retail release). But it’s only a minor criticism, which I’ve seen mentioned elsewhere in other Internet reviews.

I bought a 20cl bottle to tick this blend off my JW colour collection. Would I buy a 70cl bottle at £65? No. Here are examples of cheaper, 18yo single malts, and their Whisky Bible 2015 ratings:

£40.99 – Stronachie 18yo – 88.5/100

£53.99 – Inchmurrin 18yo – 92.5/100

£54.99 – Glenlivet 18yo – 91/100

£56.51 – Tomatin 18yo – 92.5/100

As I’m more of a single malt man (at this stage of my experience) I’d buy a bottle of one or all of the above long before I got a full 70cl of JW Platinum. But it’s still a reasonable blend nonetheless.

Ralfy’s review is of the 18yo version of Gold Label, as opposed to the NAS (non-aged statement) ‘Reserve’ version I have. The NAS version is the one most commonly found in supermarkets here in the UK, having been launched in 2013. I bought mine from Amazon as part of the Johnnie Walker 4-pack of 20cl bottles, made up of Gold, Black, Blue and Platinum. I needed the Gold and Platinum to complete my set of Johnnie Walker colours, which go with Black, Double Black, Blue, Green and Red.

The Whisky Bible score of 91.5/100 is excellent. The author, Jim Murray, says “moments of true star quality here, but the finish could do with a polish”. He scores the taste 24/25 but the finish 22/25. Nevertheless, that’s still a good score. Perhaps if it had been 46% instead of 40%?! But that can be said about many whiskies.

Even the Red Label gets a very respectable score. But with the price of the Blue Label you’d expect it to be top of the table, not languishing near the bottom. The Gold’s score of 91.5/100 classifies it as “brilliant”, which is good to hear!

It’s time to sell your grandmother, as you reach for a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label off the top shelf. I blame it all on the Green Label bottle I bought last year, which inspired me to want all the colours in the JW range. The Blue is the expensive one, at around £135 for a full 70cl. I paid £45 for my 20cl bottle, and even at that price I need my head seen to! £45 for a quarter bottle of a blend?! And it’s not even the version of the Blue Label that Jim Murray raves about in his Whisky Bible. My version scores a respectable 88/100 with the comment from Jim of “What a frustrating blend! Just so close to brilliance but the nose and finish are slightly out of kilter. Worth the experience of the mouth arrival alone.” He does give the ‘taste’ part of the mark 24/25, which is 96/100, so if I hold my nose and forgive the finish it sounds incredible!

So what is it that Jim Murray loves?! It’s the Blue Label ‘The Casks Edition’ which he scores 97/100. Wow! But unfortunately it’s £300 for a bottle. Double-WOW followed by a “Blimey!” And an “OUCH!”

I’m beginning to wonder if I’ve started collecting the various colours of Johnnie Walker, as I add ‘Double Black’ to my growing list of Red, Green and Black. Somehow 4 doesn’t seem all that impressive but I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before I add Gold and Platinum. I’ve even found myself considering Blue, although I could buy several excellent single malts for the same price as one bottle of the Blue Label. But sometimes ‘collector madness’ can blind you to common sense.

I hadn’t been considering getting the Double Black until ASDA reduced it by £10. It seemed only fair to try it. The ‘double’ element refers to taking Black Label as the base and doubling it up by adding more peaty malts and other whisky smoked in heavily charred oak casks.

Jim Murray in his Whisky Bible 2014 gives the Black Label 95.5/100 but the Double Black’s score of 94.5/100 is extremely high. He says of it “there is an earthiness to this unlike any other JW” and adds “this is a welcome and impressive addition to the Johnnie Walker stable”.

Although I’m not sure which decades my two wee bottles come from, Ralfy’s review comparing a bottle from the 1960s to one from 2010 makes interesting viewing. I believe at least one of my bottles is closer to the 1960s than 2013. I’m yet to acquire a modern bottle but, when I do, I’ll be sure to contrast and compare between the vintages. Hopefully by then my research will pin down when my minis were made.

Having bought a new bottle of Black Label a few months ago, here is my chance to do a before/after comparison with this vintage miniature. I’m not sure which decade this little bottle comes from, and online research hasn’t shed any light on this. I should look harder because Johnnie Walker is one of the most collected whiskies out there. If I can pin down the bottling year I might be able to find some appropriate reviews. As it is I’m on my own and my tasting notes at this early stage usually say “yep, tastes like whisky to me!”